Hansen of NASA Arrested in Coal Country - New York Times - June 23, 2009
Excerpt: James E. Hansen, the NASA climate scientist who has become an outspoken campaigner against coal burning, was among 31 protesters arrested on charges of obstructing officers and impeding traffic during a protest against mountaintop mining. They had initially sought to enter the grounds of a facility run by Massey Energy, the biggest company conducting mountaintop mining in West Virginia. But several hundred miners and relatives, along with supporters of the coal industry, blocked the entrance, according to the Charleston Gazette.
In a statement distributed by the Rainforest Action Network, Dr. Hansen said:
"I am not a politician; I am a scientist and a citizen. Politicians may have to advocate for halfway measures if they choose." [...]
Dr. Hansen has said for years that growing reliance on coal, far more so than oil, is the biggest threat to the global climate. As a result, he has strongly criticized the climate bill that is facing a vote by the full House of Representatives on Friday. [...] Dr. Hansen has pushed far beyond the boundaries of the conventional role of scientists, particularly government scientists, in the environmental policy debate. (UPDATE 9:15 pm: Here he explains his decision to head to coal country and risk arrest. Here, his focus on a carbon tax is explored.) He's been heaped with scorn and honors as a result. With his opposition to the climate bill, he's generated frustration among old allies.
Related Links:
Video of Hansen getting arrested
Flashback June 2008: NASA scientist calls for putting oil firm chiefs on trial for 'high crimes against humanity' for climate skepticism
June 2008: Senate Report: 'Get the Facts on James Hansen'
Jan. 2009: Former NASA Supervisor Says Hansen 'Embarrassed NASA'
Hansen agrees to global warming debate with Massey Energy's Blankenship
'Get arrested' with NASA's Hansen: 'If there was even any doubt about Hansen changing from scientist to advocate, that doubt is now shattered'
Physicist ridicules: 'James Hansen becomes a criminal' -- Actress Hannah his 'intellectual peer'
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